Oh Steve is going to love this. Seven blogs in a row about videogames. Where will it all end? I decided to actually respond to Eecs's blog. Now I am prepared to totally get ripped apart by Jon. I know he thinks that he is ALWAYS right because he is more intelligent than all of us. But I think I can add some decent points to his last blog...mostly about videogames. Let us start with a list of the different types of gamers that I have observed in my gaming experience.

Old Skool Gamer

A rare type of gamer who started his gaming career with first generation consoles and goes to about Nintendo days. This person probably knows the "pattern" in Pacman to never get eaten by the ghosts, ranked number one on an asteroids machine and loves the Combat. Unfortunately he cannot use controllers with more than 6 buttons because he is not used to it. Does not understand why games should be 3-D or graphicy. Wonders what happened to gaming in general. Considers himself a "purist" because he has been with it the earliest. However he will be proven not to be a purist a little bit later. These guys and girls judge new school gamers and think the new generation of gamers are idiots for thinking that a candle casting real time shadows equals a great game...old school gamers are not skillful at new games. They like to think they are but when they try to prove so they cannot even find the start button on the controller.

New Skool Gamer

The one thing the old skool gamers have correct. These kids think that graphics equals great games. They were not here to experience the revolution of game design therefore they are ignorant in their purchases. They keep companies like Bandai alive and kicking. However since new school gamers are not totally used to only 2 button funsticks they can easily pick up a 10 button controller and use it easily. Therefore they can revert back to older generation games since they are simpler. However they choose not to because controlling a rectangle seems stupid without the graphics. They don't understand what the fuck a paddle is for the Atari. I kill these kids on Socom everynight. They are 12 year olds who think they know everything about gaming, but alas no absolutely nothing. These kids also go see films like Swimfan and Not Another Teen Movie.

"Purist" Gamer

This is someone who might not have been around for the ENTIRE gaming revolution but understands where the new school gamer and the old school gamer are coming from. They love the old school games but also understand what it takes to be considered a great game by today's standards. Always looking for new innovative ideas while keeping the basics from Atari. They understand that being just a new school or an old school gamer is ignorant. They like 2-D games and 3-D games alike. They are skillful in general at videogames. Sometimes they want too much from their videogames but in the end understand that how the game plays is the most important aspect of the game itself.

The Pure "Purist" Gamer

A game designer who has been around since the beginning. Shigeru Miyamoto is considered one of these. He programmed Game and Watch games (which are still superior to Tiger's horseshit games) and is on the cutting edge of technology (Zelda, Cube styles). They understand that technology is there so it should be utilized, but also understands what can and cannot be done on today's systems. They are in the industry...they are the industry. They realize that the basic fundamental of a game is fun. They understand that fun can be determined by gameplay or even by the graphics themselves. They feel the need to fullfill the three types of gamers up on top so they put a lot of presentation with a lot of substance. Of course not every game designer is one of these types of gamers. Some game designers are from the new school group which renders a game useless. Yet some are old school and can't get passed the idea that sometimes you need a little eye candy every once in a while to keep a game interesting for today's standards.

Okay so why did I make this simple list. Most people might be one or two of these...but most likely you fall in one of these categories. Jon seems to me like an old school gamer. There is nothing wrong with this. He likes his simplicity and feels that simplicity equals fun. I am a purist. I have played Atari games and have even bought Atari games before, but I also realize that the X-Box is a kick ass machine. Eecs thinks that I am a moron for buying the "same" game over and over aka...Spearhead, Socom, Duke Nukem... Yet he hasn't played any FPS so is in no position to think so. Of course he thinks that there is no substance and too much presentation...but when he doesn't play videogames now how can he possibly even see the substance part of a game? For Eecs to think that we buy games because they're just new and improved he is correct...but isn't that true for anything? I don't see him looking for a cheaper car, but rather an AUDI and I'm fairly confident that AUDI's are not cheap...why that car? Cause it looks nice? A car is just a car. With only suble differences. So basically Eecs feels that purist gamers are idiots who jump at eye candy. Why the fuck not? But if it has shitty gameplay at least give us the benefit of the doubt that we will think it is a shitty game. Do not confuse new school gamers with purists.

Bottom line: I agree with Eecs about the music and the movies. I see where he is coming from...but it seems insulting to state that I am a fool who goes for graphics and nothing but graphics. He thinks that today's gamers are morons who don't understand innovation. Well I like to think I am innovative. If I am not then I will not make it in life...and I will never become a director and my life will be a complete waste of time. Oh and the final bottom line: I am not upset about any of this shit. Because it is shit. It's stupid. I was just typing shit out that I thought about while reading Eecs's blog. I know he will completely devour this one because as stated above...he is smarter and he is...*gulp* usually right. =) Oh and this brings me to another note...I was thinking very deep last night and it actually got me kinda...not sad...not frustrated...but made me a little uneasy. I'll blog about it maybe on Monday. Peace out...time to waste time on Socom cuz it is just so pretty and vivid.